1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device to be used in retaining a hat close to a wearer's body. The device prevents a hat from being blown off or otherwise being removed unintentionally from the wearer's head.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, numerous devices have been proposed in the art for preventing a hat worn by a person from blowing off completely free of the wearer, requiring the wearer to retrieve the hat in a distant location. Examples of such devices are shown in the following United States Patents: U.S. Pat. No. 846,953; U.S. Pat. No. 1,831,776; U.S. Pat. No. 736,692; U.S. Pat. No. 815,714; U.S. Pat. No. 867,814; U.S. Pat. No. 942,678; U.S. Pat. No. 1,021,647; U.S. Pat. No. 903,037. A modern variant on the hat guard disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 867,814, is currently being marketed, the primary improvement being that the length of the cord between the clips is made adjustable through the use of a clamp at the midpoint of the length of cord, dividing the cord into two halves, the two halves having a slidable ring surrounding them which is used to let out or take in the length of the two halves, as desired, to increase or reduce, respectively, the length of cord between the two clips.
A major disadvantage of prior art devices is that all of these require not only that the retaining device be attached in some way to the hat, but also the various designs all require another portion of clothing worn on the person's body. Many people nowadays wear hats, primarily of the baseball cap or visor styles, while at the beach or sailing, for example, while going shirtless, or wearing clothing such as tank tops or swimwear which would make attaching a retaining device difficult, if not impossible to accomplish.
It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a hat retaining device that is convenient to use whether or not clothing is worn on the upper body, and may be used without the necessity to attach the retaining device to an article of clothing.